Hyderabad City Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar, has cautioned residents about a new breed of organised crime that combines old-fashioned pickpocketing with sophisticated cyber fraud, warning that gangs are systematically targeting senior citizens and those with limited technical knowledge to empty their bank accounts.
Mr. Sajjanar said investigations by the Hyderabad Cyber Crime wing have led to the arrest of three accused and five mobile phones have been recovered from them.
According to police, the gangs operate in a well-planned, multi-stage manner. Members first identify elderly or unsuspecting victims using smartphones at bus stands, railway stations, crowded RTC buses and other public places, quietly observing how they unlock their screens using a pattern, PIN or password. They then distract the victim and steal the phone from their pocket or bag.
If the phone is locked, the fraudsters resort to social engineering. When the victim calls their own lost number, a gang member answers posing as a bus conductor or driver, claims the phone was found on the bus, and asks for the screen-lock password “to verify details” before returning it. Once unlocked, they scour the gallery, notes and chat apps for photos of debit/credit cards, Aadhaar, PAN cards and saved PINs, then use the stolen SIM to receive OTPs, reset banking passwords and UPI PINs, and transfer funds often routed through gaming platforms, digital wallets and mule accounts to avoid detection.
Police stressed that the network involves separate teams for spotting victims, stealing phones, extracting passwords, hacking banking apps, and laundering funds through mule accounts.
Citizens have been urged never to share screen-lock PINs, passwords or OTPs, and never to store card photos, CVVs, banking passwords or ID documents on their phones. Anyone who loses a phone should immediately block the SIM, freeze banking and UPI services, register the IMEI at www.ceir.gov.in, and report any unauthorised transaction to the national cyber helpline 1930 or www.cybercrime.gov.in. Police also appealed to younger family members to educate elderly relatives about this emerging threat.
